


The Curse of the Briar Rose

by AquamarineShadows



Category: Re:Alistair++
Genre: F/M, Fluff, MMORPGs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-20 17:50:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6019456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquamarineShadows/pseuds/AquamarineShadows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been such a long time since Lynnea has seen or heard from Travis since they started going to separate colleges. She's more than delighted when he suddenly logs into an old game they both shared, and the two spend the night fighting monsters and catching up on each others' lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Curse of the Briar Rose

**Author's Note:**

> So apparently there is no fandom on AO3 for Re: Alistair++ yet. Which means I'm the first? Kind of scary.
> 
> Just a one shot inspired from a time where my two favorite games were, simultaneously Re: Alistair ++ and dotHACK//infection. And also inspired from a fairy tale.

The annoying “Game Over” screen flashed obnoxiously, much to Lynnea’s dismay. The quest was simple: defeat the Dark Rider and steal the Book of Merlin. She knew she shouldn’t have gone alone, but all of the players in her usual party with were absent from the World. It had been days since Travis last logged on to Tales of Verloren, and she wasn’t used to talking to him so little. She knew that he was probably repairing computers in the electronic classroom again, and it couldn’t be helped. 

Because they went to different universities, Lynnea couldn’t visit him very often. Tales of Verloren was usually the only place they talked. Occasionally she logged into Spacebook, but she found it irritating and uninteresting. She clicked the flash mail icon at the top of the desktop before logging back into the game.

> _ Hi Travis!  _
> 
> _ It’s been awhile since we last chatted, hasn’t it? I hope all is going well. How have classes been for you? Your job and studies must keep you busy. I’ve been preoccupied with botany club, but everyone shares the workload, so it runs smoothly and without conflict. I know you’ve probably been working late again, so try not to overstress yourself, okay? _
> 
> _ I’ve been in the omega server lately, so let’s play again soon! :)  _
> 
> _ -Lynnea _

Ready to give the mission another try, she logged back into the game with a strong determination to clear the castle’s dungeon on her own. Lynnea guided her character, AstralRose, through the roads of the root town Aerosborrough. The short magician sprinted past the church and the surrounding houses, and the innovative graphics made her feel as if she actually lived in medieval England. She was stopped several times on her way to the warp gate by the many sales pitches from the non-player characters along Merchant’s Lane. She chose the “Castle of Linor” option in the warp gate, and the bright light of the gate engulfed her character. 

In order to face the rider, she passed through the Dungeon of Linor to enter the castle, where the rider awaited challengers in the courtyard. In one of the many rooms in the maze of a dungeon, she met one of the rare Faeries of the Night. She was at first delighted at this meeting because a faerie was a healer and the bringer of good luck. Unfortunately, she also ran into a Druid Witch. In an attempted magical attack on the witch, AstralRose’s earth spell missed and killed the faerie by mistake. Killing a Faerie of the Night almost ensured a morbid fate. The ghost of the small sprite cursed AstralRose and abolished her to a bedroom in the highest tower of the castle to sleep for a century. (Though in ToV, this only meant ten minutes) In the forums, the members dubbed this particular situation “the curse of the Briar Rose” for the fairy tale it was based on. 

Lynnea prepared herself for the damage that would befall her character. Though she was cursed to sleep for a century, ghosts and goblins would continue to inflict damage upon her. A way to escape this curse was for another member of the party to aid her with a restorative potion, but since Lynnea had chosen to go alone, she could only hope that another player would cross her path in the castle on their way to the courtyard. The amount of damage done by goblins was left up to chance, so there was a small possibility that by the time the century was over, she might have awoken to few ailments. If not, she would be burned, poisoned, or frozen.

She blankly watched a low level goblin stab AstralRose with an ice blade. Four minutes had passed, and she was close to dying, but surprisingly, she did not die. Another player entered the tower room, and she immediately recognized the character.

A chat box opened in the corner of the game screen, and the little pencil symbol appeared as Travis typed.

> _ Oda: What have you gotten yourself into this time, Lynnea? -_- _
> 
> _ AstralRose: Ah… I accidentally killed a Faerie of the Night ^.^; _
> 
> _ Oda: How fitting. AstralRose meets the Curse of the Briar Rose. _
> 
> _ AstralRose: Just help me out ¬.¬ _

He turned around to slay the ice goblin.

> _ Oda: Unfortunately for the both of us, I used my last restoring potion after a battle with an Enchanted Armor. _
> 
> _ AstralRose: Ugh, just leave me here and save yourself then. _

But the guardian did not leave her side.

> _ Oda: I think I can still help you. _

A few moments passed as Lynnea waited for him to use whatever cheat he had in mind. She was surprised when the Oda leaned over AstralRose to kiss her lips which woke the magician up and restored her to full health. A light shade of pink dusted Lynnea’s cheeks.

Together they made it through the rest of the dungeon and the castle to reach the courtyard. It was a hard-fought battle against the Dark Rider, but they emerged victorious. It was a relief to return to the quiet, moonlit streets of Aerosborrough.

She clicked on the chat box again.

> _ AstralRose: How did you do that?! _
> 
> _ Oda: up, right, ctrl+tab+k _
> 
> _ AstralRose: Thank you. :o _
> 
> _ Oda: No trouble at all :) I’m a guardian for a reason, you know. _
> 
> _ AstralRose: It’s really useful for me, too.  _ _   
>  _ _ Oda: I help out when I can. _
> 
> _ AstralRose: It’s been a long time since we played together. I missed you, you know! _
> 
> _ Oda: Of course you did. :P _
> 
> _ AstralRose: But really, I miss you a lot. _
> 
> _ Oda: I miss you, too. I really do. _

The two stayed awake until the early hours of the morning chatting and catching up with each others’ lives. As she suspected, he kept himself busy with the video game design club, and his job in the computer lab took up a lot of his time. Neither wanted to say good night, but Lynnea’s eyelids grew heavy, and she found it hard to keep herself awake. About eight hours after she passed out, she woke up to see his last message before falling asleep again.

  
“Good night, Lynnea. ♥ :) I’ll always protect you, even when I can’t be with you.” She happily fell asleep again only to have sweet dreams about her personal guardian.


End file.
